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Veteran honors troops with poetry

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Veteran honors troops with poetry

by: Derrick Graham | .

Stripes Guam | .

published: July 12, 2016

Editor’s note: Derrick Graham is a veteran who cares deeply about service members. He’s also a poet. Derrick reach out to us to share his poems with the military community. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Derrick Graham: I served in the United States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman for 20 years. I retired in 2012 and I reside in Huntsville, Alabama with my wife, Felesha. Throughout my tenure in the Navy, I had the pleasure of being stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I began writing when I was 12 years old due to my father’s untimely passing. That was the most difficult thing that I had endured.

Being the youngest of 10 children, I felt it would be better for me to write because it would allow me to illustrate my emotions without being judged. The more I would write, the more I enjoyed it.

I wrote these first two poems because I do understand the arduous duties that come along with being on active duty. This is my way of telling the military servicemen and women that I do appreciate what they all do for our country.

For over 30 years I have written many poems, but when I look back, I realized I have evolved. My writings have matured through three decades and I just want to be able to share them with the world. My main purpose is to be able to touch others hearts and provoke a deep thinking process. And if I can do that, mission accomplished.